Democratische leiders in Hudson County, New Jersey, roepen procureur-generaal Jennifer Davenport op om de staat terug te trekken uit haar betrokkenheid bij een rechtszaak die erop gericht is de fusie tussen Paramount-Skydance en Warner Bros. Discovery tegen te houden.

In een opiniestuk in de New Jersey Globe drongen burgemeester Sharon Ashe-Nadowski van Bayonne, Hudson County Executive Craig Guy, staatssenatoren Raj Mukherji, Brian Stack en Angela McKnight, en staatsafgevaardigden Jerry Walker, William Sampson, Ravi Bhalla, Katie Brennan, Larry Wainstein en Gabriel Rodriguez er bij Davenport op aan New Jersey uit de zaak terug te trekken, onder verwijzing naar mogelijke economische voordelen voor de staat.

De functionarissen schreven dat zij Davenport's onafhankelijke oordeel respecteren, maar dat "The extraordinary stakes for New Jersey in this matter, however, give rise to this rare but consequential disagreement."

"New Jersey has spent years building a film and television industry capable of competing with New York, California, Georgia and production centers around the world including the U.K., attracting transformational investments from Netflix and Lionsgate," schreven de functionarissen. "Paramount has become a critical participant in that effort and has committed to establishing a substantial, long-term production presence in Bayonne."

De groep zei dat het plan om 1888 Studios in Bayonne te ontwikkelen de meest betekenisvolle economische kans is die Hudson County in jaren heeft gehad.

"This is the creation of an entirely new economic ecosystem and a self-sustaining creative economy in our state: careers for electricians, laborers, carpenters, stagehands, technicians, artists, and countless others; new customers for our small businesses; and, critically, accessible pathways into a growing industry for young people and working families who too often have been excluded from the prosperity being created around them. Its economic reverberations will extend well beyond the studio gates," the Hudson County officials said.

Volgens de functionarissen zou het project ongeveer $1.2 billion aan kapitaaluitgaven in de Paramount-campus opleveren, evenals permanente soundstages en post-productiefaciliteiten in het county en permanente banen.

De gekozen functionarissen van Hudson County uitten ook zorgen over de kosten van de rechtszaak, en zeiden dat belastinggeld niet vastgezet zou moeten worden in een zaak die zij onzeker noemden, terwijl New Jersey werkt aan uitbreiding van de filmsector en het aantrekken van externe investeringen.

"We are increasingly concerned that New Jersey taxpayer dollars are being committed to litigation whose merits appear uncertain while its potential costs to the State and to our economy continue to escalate," they wrote. "After an exhaustive eight-month investigation involving review of more than 2 million documents, the U.S. Department of Justice concluded that the transaction was unlikely to harm competition in streaming, linear television, or theatrical film."

Zij drongen er bij de procureur-generaal op aan om New Jersey uit de coalitie terug te trekken.

"Now that New Jersey is a party to this litigation, whether or not we might have chosen a different course at the outset, the question is how best to protect the interests of the State going forward. We respectfully urge our Attorney General to withdraw our state from this action or work toward a prompt and reasonable resolution of this matter and to be a voice of reason in the room," they wrote.

"The State should have an exceptionally compelling reason before spending taxpayer dollars on multi-state litigation of uncertain merit that may undermine those very investments," the county leaders added.

Gouverneur Mikie Sherrill van New Jersey zei in een verklaring aan Fox News Digital: "We are excited to welcome Paramount to Hudson County because film is in New Jersey's DNA — we're Hollywood East and the only state where film shoots are up this year. New Jersey is open for film business, so we are going to keep building, keep filming, and keep making it easier for companies like Paramount to create good-paying jobs and lay down roots in the Garden State."

Het kantoor van Davenport vertelde Fox News Digital geen commentaar te hebben op het opiniestuk van de Hudson County-functionarissen.

In een persbericht van juli zei het kantoor van Davenport dat zij zich aansloot bij de coalitie om de fusie aan te vechten, waartoe ook Californië, Colorado en New York behoorden, en stelde: "The proposed merger would combine two of Hollywood’s five major film distributors and two of the five major basic cable companies, extinguishing competition between Paramount and Warner Bros. and inflicting substantial harm on movie theaters, basic cable distributors, and, ultimately, consumers nationwide."

"New Jersey is the birthplace of the American film industry, and the state is now a burgeoning hub for film and television production. Given our state’s leadership in the film and television industry, we must protect our residents when corporate media monopolies threaten to upend the industry by raising prices and reducing content choices," zei Davenport destijds.

"The proposed merger between Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery will hurt our state’s residents, plain and simple," vervolgde zij. "We will always stand up against corporate monopolists that seek to exploit hardworking New Jerseyans by driving up prices and turning a massive profit at their expense."

Seth Schachner, managing director van Strat Americas en voormalig voorzitter van Florida's Film & Entertainment Advisory Council, vertelde Fox News Digital dat de wetgevers een legitiem argument hebben.

"These lawmakers have a legitimate argument, as no one really benefits from extensive legal delays over a merger that could still go forward, albeit with asset sales," he said. "The states' legal case is a bit limited though, as it ignores the broader competitive reality that all locales — including New Jersey — are operating in with respect to film and TV production, as streamers like Netflix are essential parts of the case."

Hij zei ook dat de wetgevers "not unbiased here" zijn, omdat zij de verbintenis van Paramount aan 1888 Studios in Bayonne steunen.

Volgens berichten zouden vertegenwoordigers van Paramount-Skydance en het kantoor van de Californische procureur-generaal Rob Bonta vorige week bijeenkomen om een mogelijke oplossing te bespreken voor de rechtszaak die bedoeld is om Paramount's $110 billion overname van Warner Bros. Discovery te blokkeren.